A protective leg sock suitable for use when operating a flexible line weed
trimmer. The sock includes a tubular leg enclosing portion that has an
upper open end that pulls up to just above the knee, and a lower open end
that flares out to cover the front top portion and the rear heel portion
of the user's shoe. An elastic ring encircles the tube above the lower
open end to engage the ankle area and prevent material from entering from
the bottom. A cord and spring biased barrel closure secures the tube to
the leg just above the knee, and grommets on each side of the tube below
the upper end provide ventilation. The sock is preferably made from four
mil, diamond embossed, tubular plastic film stock.

1. A protective leg sock for a human leg, consisting of: a generally
tubular leg enclosing portion fabricated from tubular plastic film and
having an upper open end, a lower open end; and a cuff adapted to encircle
the open upper end, the cuff including a closed tunnel and a slit
communicating between a point interior of the tunnel and a point exterior
of the tunnel

an elastic ring attached to encircle the leg enclosing portion at a
location vertically spaced up from the lower open end;

a shroud section extending down from the elastic ring to the open lower
open end, the shroud section being disposed to flare downwardly out from
the elastic ring and including a front section disposed to cover a front
top portion of a user's shoe, and a rear section disposed to cover a top
heel portion of the user's shoe;

a cord having free ends attached to encircle the leg enclosing portion at
the upper open end, the cord being disposed to extend through the tunnel
with the free ends disposed to extend through the slit exterior of the
tunnel;

a spring-biased barrel closure attached to the cord near the free ends,
whereby a length of the cord within the tunnel is selectively adjustable;
and,

a pair of opposed ventilation openings formed through the leg enclosing
portion at a location proximate to, but spaced from, the upper open end of
the leg enclosing portion.

2. The protective leg sock as in claim 1; wherein said cord is elastic.

4. The protective leg sock of claim 3 wherein the plastic film has a four
mil thickness.

5. The protective leg sock of claim 4, wherein the plastic film is diamond
embossed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of protective clothing, and more
particularly to a protective leg sock.

2. Description of the Related Art

As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,005,215;
5,031,247; 5,170,503; 5,173,967; and 5,570,470, the prior art is replete
with myriad and diverse protective leg coverings.

While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than
adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been
specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their
failure to provide a simple, efficient and practical protective leg sock
suitable for use when operating a flexible line weed trimmer, such as a
"WEEDEATER" trimmer. When using a weed trimmer, there are two final
results: a neatly trimmed yard; and legs and shoes that are completely
covered with grass, weeds, some poisonous oils, dust and dirt.

This not only ruins the operator's jeans, socks and shoes, but numerous
people wear shorts while using a weed trimmer and contract problems with
poison ivy, poison oak and other allergies associated with weeds and
pollen. Just trying to brush off or clean up clothing or untying shoes are
very easy ways to become contaminated.

As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a
longstanding need for a new and improved protective leg sock and the
provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present
invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention provides a protective leg sock
suitable for use when operating a flexible line weed trimmer. The sock
includes a tubular leg enclosing portion that has an upper open end that
pulls up to just above the knee, and a lower open end that flares out to
cover the front top portion and the rear heel portion of the user's shoe.
An elastic ring encircles the tube above the lower open end to engage the
ankle area and prevent material from entering from the bottom. A cord and
spring biased barrel closure secures the tube to the leg just above the
knee, and grommets on each side of the tube below the upper end provide
ventilation. The sock is preferably made from four mil, diamond embossed,
tubular plastic film stock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a
thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying
out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the
drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of protective leg socks of the
present invention being worn by an individual;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a single sock illustrating the diamond
embossed surface texture; and

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective sectional view showing the top cuff with an
internally disposed cord, and a spring-biased barrel closure used to
secure the upper end of the sock to the user's leg just above the knee.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 2,
the protective leg sock that forms the basis of the present invention is
designated generally by the reference number 10. The sock 10 includes a
tubular leg enclosing portion 20 with an upper open end 22 and a bottom
open end 24. An elastic ring 30 encircles the tube 20 above the bottom end
24 in the area of the user's ankle. A shroud 40 flares out downwardly from
the ring 30 where a front section 42 covers the front top of the user's
shoe 1 and a rear section 44 covers the top heel portion of the shoe 1.
The bottom end 24 is reinforced by attaching a ring of bias tape 50.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the upper open end 22 carries a cuff 60 that is
folded over to form a tunnel 62 that receives a cord 70. The free ends 72,
74 of the cord 70 extend out of the tunnel 62 through slits 64 and are
engaged by a spring-biased barrel closure 80. The closure 80 is
selectively moved along the cord 70 to adjust the length of cord 70 within
the tunnel 62 to secure the upper end 22 to the leg of the user just above
the knee. Grommets 90 on each side of the sock 10 provide ventilation.

The socks 10 are a cover-up that go over the shoe and pull up to just above
the knee and are tightened by a barrel closure 80 that is attached to an
elastic cord 70. The shroud 40 is designed to cover 2/3 of the shoe 1. The
elastic ring 30 allows the socks 10 to fit all sizes and allows the socks
10 to pull up tight around the ankle to keep anything from entering the
sock 10. Two grommets 90 are placed at the top of the sock 10 near the
cuff 60 to allow the sock 10 to breathe.

The sock 10 is not meant to be a safety protector from the speed of the
string of the trimmer. The design is solely to keep the user clean and
uncontaminated.

The sock 10 is simple in design and may be manufactured using the procedure
which follows. The preferred material of construction is a four mil
diamond embossed plastic film since this material will not allow grass to
stick very well. This material is available in a twelve and one-half inch
(121/2") tube which gives it a twenty-five inch (25") circumference. The
tubular film is cut to a length of twenty-five inches (25"), and a notch
pattern 41 for the shoe shroud 40 is cut at the bottom. The next step is
to install bias tape 50 around the bottom 24 and sew a piece of one-half
inch (1/2") wide elastic 30 five inches (5") up from the bottom 24 of the
sock 10. A half-inch (1/2") grommet 90 is then installed in the middle of
the sock 10 and on both sides and located three inches (3") down from the
top 22 of the finished sock 10. This grommet 90 is installed for a vent to
allow warm air to vent out. The next step is to install a cuff 60 at the
top 22. The cuff 60 starts with a piece of material, such as that used for
cuffs on jackets, that is three inches (`"3") wide and twenty-five inches
(25") long. The material is folded over to create a tunnel 62 inside. The
cuff 60 is one and one-half inches (11/2") wide when sewn to the top 22. A
one eighth inch (1/8") diameter elastic cord 70 twenty-nine inches (29")
long is installed into the tunnel 62 of the cuff 60. Finally, a spring
loaded barrel closure 80 is installed onto the elastic cord 70 which
allows tightening of the cuff 60 as desired, holding it securely to the
leg.

The sock 10 will go over a man's size 15 shoe and probably larger depending
on type of shoe. If shoes are much larger, the user may want to remove the
shoe, put on the socks 10 and then put the shoe back on.

Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described
in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that
many modifications are possible without materially departing from the
novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this
invention as defined in the following claims.